Former San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew leaves a sentencing hearing at a federal courthouse in San Francisco, Friday, April 3, 2009. Jew has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison for attempting to shake down small city businesses having planning permit problems. He was ensnared in a 2007 FBI sting that videotaped Jew receiving $40,000 in marked bills from an owner of a Quickly fast-food restaurant. He later pleaded guilty to one count each of bribery, extortion and fraud and admitted he tried to force several Quickly owners to pay him a combined $80,000. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) less

Former San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew leaves a sentencing hearing at a federal courthouse in San Francisco, Friday, April 3, 2009. Jew has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison for attempting ... more

Photo: Paul Sakuma, AP

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Former San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew, right, gets a hug from a supporter after a sentencing hearing at a federal courthouse in San Francisco, Friday, April 3, 2009. Jew has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison for attempting to shake down small city businesses having planning permit problems. He was ensnared in a 2007 FBI sting that videotaped Jew receiving $40,000 in marked bills from an owner of a Quickly fast-food restaurant. He later pleaded guilty to one count each of bribery, extortion and fraud and admitted he tried to force several Quickly owners to pay him a combined $80,000. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) less

Former San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew, right, gets a hug from a supporter after a sentencing hearing at a federal courthouse in San Francisco, Friday, April 3, 2009. Jew has been sentenced to five years and ... more

Photo: Paul Sakuma, AP

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Ed Jew (left) appeared in San Francisco Superior Court dept. 22 for a hearing where he presented his new attorney, Stuart Hanlon (rt). Mike Kepka / The Chronicle Photo taken on 10/19/07, in San Francisco, CA, USA MANDATORY CREDIT FOR PHOTOG AND SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT less

Ed Jew (left) appeared in San Francisco Superior Court dept. 22 for a hearing where he presented his new attorney, Stuart Hanlon (rt). Mike Kepka / The Chronicle Photo taken on 10/19/07, in San Francisco, CA, ... more

Photo: Mike Kepka

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The property (left) at 2450 28th Ave, in San Francisco (allegedly empty). Owned by Ed Jew and listed as his residence so he can represent his district on the board of supervisors. (Information supplied by reporter)
Photographed on May 21, 2007
Liz Mangelsdorf/the Chronicle less

The property (left) at 2450 28th Ave, in San Francisco (allegedly empty). Owned by Ed Jew and listed as his residence so he can represent his district on the board of supervisors. (Information supplied by ... more

Photo: Liz Mangelsdorf

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The Quickly Tapioca shop on Irving Street in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, June 6, 2007. Supervisor Ed Jew is under investigation for accepting $40,000 from the owners of the tapioca chain.
PAUL CHINN/The Chronicle
**Ed Jew
Ran on: 09-26-2007
This is the home at 2450 28th Ave. that Ed Jew says is his residence in San Francisco. less

The Quickly Tapioca shop on Irving Street in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, June 6, 2007. Supervisor Ed Jew is under investigation for accepting $40,000 from the owners of the tapioca chain.
PAUL ... more

Photo: PAUL CHINN

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Former S.F. supervisor sentenced to prison

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Disgraced former San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew, convicted of trying to extort $80,000 from constituents, was sentenced Friday to more than five years in federal prison - a punishment that exceeded the prosecutor's request.

"I don't think this was just a lapse in judgment or a poor decision," U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said in handing down a 64-month prison sentence and a $10,000 fine. "This was a corrupt act that was undertaken."

Jew put on a brave face after learning he had about three months with his wife and fifth-grade daughter before surrendering July 1.

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He hugged or shook hands with more than 20 supporters at the courthouse. He apologized before news cameras. He even shook hands with reporters and called them by name, despite having just decried his portrayal in the press as he asked Illston for leniency.

The man who admitted shaking down Chinese immigrant owners of tapioca drink shops in the Sunset District for $80,000 in bribes is still grappling with the reality of a prison term that is seven months longer than prosecutors had sought.

"He was ready to go to prison for two or three years, but five years? He finds it excessive," said Jew's attorney, Stuart Hanlon. "I think it will take a while to process this."

Jew, in subdued tones, talked mostly of his family.

"I've helped many people in this city," he said outside court. "I would like to see if those that I've helped would be able to come out and help my daughter and my wife."

Illston said the sentence was appropriate given the crime, the victims' vulnerability, Jew's elected position and the need for deterrence.

"This is not the way things are done in this city," she said.

Jew pleaded guilty in October to one count each of mail fraud, bribery and extortion for trying to shake down business owners of Quickly tapioca drink shops, who spoke little English and were new to city bureaucracy.

Jew "preyed upon and victimized the very people whom he had proposed to support in his campaign: small business owners in the Sunset District," prosecutor Tracie Brown said.

Problems created

Barely two months in office, Jew created permit problems for a string of eight Quickly shops by notifying the city's Planning Department about potential violations that he then offered to fix for the owners - at a price, prosecutors wrote in court filings.

Jew then directed the department to send formal notices of violation after one of the shops failed to pay him $20,000, prosecutors said. Jew then offered a "group discount" of $80,000 - $10,000 per shop - to remedy Quickly's problems with permits.

Raid by FBI agents

After a $40,000 down payment was made at Jew's flower shop, FBI agents raided his office and homes, seizing $10,000 of the payment that was wrapped in aluminum foil and stashed in a refrigerator.

He also was accused of accepting $4,000 from the owner of Wonderful Desserts and Cafe in April 2007 in exchange for his support of a new cafe permit. Prosecutors dropped those charges Friday.

The former supervisor, who resigned from office in January 2008, was "acting in a way he learned how politicians act in his culture and his society and San Francisco," and Jew planned to name those mentors at sentencing, Hanlon said when Jew pleaded guilty. But Hanlon declined to name anyone Friday, saying it would not help his client.

Brown scoffed at the idea that, if true, learned political extortion was somehow less serious.

"I learned to drive from my mother," Brown said. "I don't throw her under the bus if I get stopped for speeding."

Hanlon had sought a sentence of one year and one day in prison, followed by supervised release. The defense argued that Jew planned to use the money for community projects, including a playground.

Hanlon also said Jew suffered from brain damage, which a defense-hired doctor said appears to have contributed to "the blatant and open nature of his illegal behavior" and his "failure to recognize that what he was doing was wrong."

Brain surgery

Jew was in a coma and had brain surgery after he was struck by a motorcycle while crossing the street when he was 8 years old. He was also hit by a truck while again crossing the street and later was beaten by teen gang members, according to defense court filings.

Jew, standing before Illston, apologized to members of his district, his family and others, saying: "What I did was wrong. I know that now, and I'm so ashamed."

His wife and daughter "really suffered the most," Jew said. His wife is battling cancer, and their daughter had to transfer schools because classmates harassed her about her father, Jew said.

"I'm not the person the media has portrayed me as," he said. "I'm a simple and naïve person."

Master's degree

Illston, though, pointed out that Jew has a master's degree in business administration. The judge also rejected Jew's contention that he secretly planned to shower the money on community projects.

"You don't extort money from your constituents in order to fulfill a secret plan," Illston said, "and put the money in your refrigerator."